


Look, Don't Touch

by Tarlan



Category: Without a Trace
Genre: M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-10-29
Updated: 2004-10-29
Packaged: 2017-10-12 23:07:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/130117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Unknowingly, Martin has an admirer who wishes he could act on his desire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Look, Don't Touch

There was every reason on this earth not to get involved with Martin Fitzgerald.

For starters, he was a man... albeit a handsome man, with a smile that could light half the east side and a strong, athletic frame that begged to be touched and worshiped. When Martin first joined the Missing Persons Unit, his hair had been a tad longer and more luscious looking than the harsh military cut he now sported. It had glowed beneath the office lights in shades of mahogany and burnished gold.

Yet, it was Martin's eyes that had caught him from the first. They were a brilliant blue, sparkling like the Pacific Ocean on a hot summer day. They echoed the same siren call of the sea... drawing in the watcher to drown in their cool depths.

Intelligence shone from those eyes, with crystal clarity of thought and an eloquence that proved he had won his prestigious Special Agent credentials on more than his good looks and family connections.

This brought Jack to the second reason for not getting involved with Martin.

Martin was the son of FBI Deputy Director Victor Fitzgerald and, no matter how much he tried, Martin could not crawl out from beneath that protective shadow. The elder Fitzgerald had already proved how far he would go to protect his son from his potential shortcomings - and from his genuine mistakes - willing to start a witch-hunt that would point the finger of blame in another direction.

Jack shuddered as he thought of the implications.

If Victor Fitzgerald knew of the unprofessional interest he had in his son, then he would find a compulsory transfer to some remote FBI office in Alaska waiting on his desk for him within twenty-four hours.

Jack's thoughts drifted back a little as his eyes settled, once more, on the man looking, intently, at his monitor, watching data flow across the screen. Occasionally, the data stream paused while Martin jotted down something of interest. At those times, a small frown would crease his forehead while his lips tightened or pursed in response to whatever had caught his eye. Sometimes, if it were something puzzling, then the tip of Martin's tongue would peek out to swipe across the lower lip, causing a flare of desire within Jack.

Martin had attended good schools and he had attained a proficiency in his chosen discipline that set him near the top of his year. He brought those skills onto the team, filling the void by becoming their computer data-mining expert, proving himself repeatedly with the way he managed to extract information that seemed useless until pieced together with other information dug up by the team.

However, there was more to Martin than a techno geek. His skill as an interrogator were finely honed too, making him an unexpected asset in that particular area, as any lingering naivety crumpled beneath the experiences garnered since joining the team.

This brought him to the main reason why he should not get involved with Martin beyond the professional and platonic relationship already established between them.

He was responsible for Martin's conduct, for his work, for perusing his reports and making recommendations for both Martin's future and the future of the other members of the team. Getting involved with Martin would be opening him up to accusations of favoritism or, equally bad, positive discrimination, where he marked Martin down in order to keep him on the team or to prove that he was not playing favorites.

In short, Martin was his subordinate, and Jack had made a promise -- to himself - that he would never get involved with another subordinate.

He thought of Sam and the momentary madness that had flared between them after a difficult case, setting them onto a path that had almost destroyed his marriage.

Despite the physical pleasure of being with Sam, he had spent those months in misery, missing his daughters intensely. Fear of returning to those dark days brought sanity back to him.

All the promises held in Martin's cerulean blue eyes, and all the enticements of his handsome, strong body, could not overpower the love and adoration Jack felt for those two small children. He had loved them from the moment the midwife placed them into his arms when just a few minutes old and not seeing them every day had almost broken his heart.

Jack sighed and turned away from the office window overlooking the bullpen.

He had jeopardized that once before through a need to share the stress of his working life with someone who could understand the pressures. Fortunately, his wife had given him a second chance and had accepted him back into the family home. He would not take that risk again, not even for this beautiful man.

Though every nerve in his body wanted to touch this man, desperately, he knew he could never give in to the desire.

Jack closed his eyes and, instantly, he could picture the handsome profile and the agile fingers that could have danced over his body. He smiled, opening his eyes, and turned back to gaze across the office to where Martin still sat deeply engrossed in the task.

Maybe he could never touch this man… but what harm could there ever be in looking.

THE END


End file.
